I would love to be able to tell you during my teenage years, I only listened to Christian music. Not so much!!! I loved classic rock and roll plus I loved the new stuff that was coming out from inspiring artists. One of my favorite artists was Bryan Adams. Do you remember him? One of my favorite songs he wrote was “Cuts like a knife….” Of course it was one of those songs where somebody was betrayed by their significant other and they were crying out in pain from the hurt.

Over the past few months, there has been many times in my life where I felt like I was “cut like a knife” because of the pain and raw emotions that I was feeling. Emotions so raw they brought me to my knees in pain and crying out to God for help. Emotions so deep that at times I held up a white flag and told God “I give up! I’m done! You have the wrong girl working for you!”

This morning, I had one of those “light bulb” moments with God where He spoke so clear that I finally understood what He was showing me. But let me go back a few months.

A few months back, I began to pray and ask God for my heart to weep and to break like His. We were seeing so much heartache at the Truth for Women Center and seeing the devastation in women’s lives that I just didn’t want to become numb to it. I didn’t want my heart to grow numb to what I was seeing. I want to have a heart after God and a heart like His. This was my plea and cry to Him.

Without getting into all the details, one by one, things started to happen. One by one accusation was made against me, against the ministry and against our team. One by one our staff and leaders were getting hit with threats of cancer, lupus, depression, optical migraines and more. One by one the “wounds from a friend…..”began to hit me and the people I love.

I watched my precious staff, leaders and myself take hit after hit after hit. All we could do was cry out to God and ask Him to help us stay the course that He planned for us. Continue to do the work that He called us to do and give women the Word to set them free.

One night, I had a dream. Very rarely do I have dreams that I know that I know they are from God. This dream was so powerful and so real! I dreamed that I was driving in my van and along came this huge tornado that picked up and destroyed everything in its path. I got out of the van and the tornado picked me up into the eye of the storm. I tossed and turned but was never hurt. I watched it pick things up and spit them right out yet I was never touched. I spun around until finally it let me down back on solid ground. People came running over to me and were in amazement that I was not hurt on the outside. But I kept trying to tell them that something was seriously wrong with me. Even though I looked ok on the outside, something was wrong with me on the inside. I was hurt and in pain on the inside but no one understood what I was saying.

I woke up and thought to myself “Oh Lord, what is about to happen!!” I believe it was God warning me to prepare me for what was to come.

The next night I was hit in a way that I was never expecting. It brought me to my knees where all I could do was weep. The pain was deep and so very real. I called a co-ministry leader and couldn’t speak. She spoke truth to me and the Word of God gave me some peace.

A few days later, I went to the book of Nehemiah and asked God to speak loud and clear to my heart. I came to a verse that I had never seen before. I have read the book of Nehemiah many times and I was convinced God just put that verse in for me at that exact moment in time! LOL!!! As soon as I read it, the balm of Gilead, the great physician began to bring healing to my broken heart. He revived me, cleansed me and moved me forward.

Now remember, all this time, I kept praying that God would give me a heart like His!

A few days ago, we met a woman in prison who was arrested recently on a bust by homeland security. She is a woman who was bought and sold for sex. We meet a few times with this precious woman and watched the Word of God bring tears to her eyes. She exposed her heart, her dreams and her desires for healing. We gave her the Word of God and told her how people were praying for her. At the sound of those words, she wept.

Yesterday, she was to be released to us so we could begin to work with her. We had a set time for me to pick her up but unfortunately, she was released 30 mins earlier. When I went there, she was nowhere to be found. The rest of the afternoon was spent in tears and prayers up to God. My heart was breaking and there was nothing I could do about it but PRAY! Our team prayed. Our team cried.

This morning as I was preparing for work, I was talking to God and asking Him Why? How? What happened? And all of a sudden, that soft still voice spoke. He reminded me of my prayer asking Him for a heart like His. My prayer asking Him to help me weep and break like His. The past few months God has been using EVERYTHING to answer my prayers. Was it the way I wanted or expected? No! But God is so good and so amazing that He answers our prayers the right way we need to receive them. When that realization hit me this morning, I began to think of all the emotions I have experienced over the past few months and I began to wonder if I ever caused God to have those same feelings.

Did I ever accuse God of being something He is not? Did I ever betray God? Was I ever disobedient? Did I ever turn from God when He was offering me life changing words? Did I ever walk away from Him when He was holding His arms out to me with love?

Yes, Yes and Yes!!!! I broke His heart and yet His heart is and always will be to love me, adore me, sing over me and pull me closer to Him. Has the past few months “cut like a knife?” Oh yes. Would I take them back? Oh no. Because it has all brought me closer to the heart of God. It has caused my heart to break like His and to weep for His people.

I encourage you to seek the heart of God. I encourage you to allow God to break your heart like His! Why? Because through it all, you will become the servant of God that He needs you to be for the call that He has on your life. He will use it all to mold you and transform you more into His image. In all reality, the heart break actually sets you free!!!

Independence Day by Kim Checkeye

This week we celebrate independence and freedom for our country from the Kingdom of Great Britain. We will celebrate with fireworks, picnics, baseball games and family gatherings but all the while, there are those still being held captive in our country and being forced into another form of slavery called sex trafficking.  On July 4^th, they will not be celebrating freedom for they have not known what that is for years. 

It has been a year since Truth for Women partnered with V.A.S.T. in bringing awareness and education to our community on sex trafficking.  While it has been an amazing year of networking, training service providers and making connections with others who have a heart to stop this injustice, it has also been a year of heart break.  It has been a year of many tears shed and many sleepless nights. 

Why?  Because before you can educate or bring awareness to a community, we must educate ourselves on what we are fighting against.  We must immerse ourselves in studying statistics and facts on sex trafficking.  We must read every book we can get our hands on about the trauma the victims experience and we work one on one with the women who have been wounded by this horror.

All the while we plead with God to break our hearts for this injustice and ask Him to allow us to feel just an inkling of what He must feel when He sees this in the United States of America and internationally.  Little did we understand just how amazing God is at granting the requests that we bring before Him.

But what has broken my heart the most is the harden hearts who choose to ignore this injustice.  Even after receiving the information or hearing the stories of the victims from the Lehigh Valley, they choose to believe it is not happening in our community.  They choose to turn an eye from it and ignore what is right in front of them.  They choose to pretend that it isn’t happening in their backyard because if they did, they would need to rise up and do something about it.

The Word of God speaks time and time again about setting the captives free, releasing the oppressed, breaking the yoke of burden and the rod of their oppressors and binding up the broken hearted. 

Those scriptures mean more to me today, then ever before because I have personally met the captives, the prisoners and the broken hearted who have been held against their will in the commercial sex industry.

I interviewed one counselor who works with women coming out of prison.  She has worked with over 200 women and 85% of them were victims of sex trafficking or sexual exploitation.  All of them right here in the Lehigh Valley.  This was just ONE counselor who was interviewed!

Their stories are heartbreaking and bone chilling at what they have been through.  Being sold at the age of 5 to a pedophile, being sold at the age of 2 to a pimp, being injected with heroine at the age of 12 by their own mother so their bodies would be addicted to the substance so in return, they would sell themselves for money. 

These are woman who are right here who need our help and need our support to get them get out of this evil.  But where can they go?  Where can we send them?  There is no place in the Lehigh Valley equipped to handle this type of trauma and devastation.  NONE. 

That is why the Truth for Women Center is feverously working on raising the funds to open a therapeutic residential home for victims of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.  We are estimating it will cost $130,000 - $150,000 a year. 

How can you help?  Become a part of the solution and put your hands to helping the victims find freedom. 

Do You Need Help?

By Shana Minervini

Do you need help? Are you afraid? Are you confused? Are you hopeless? Are you about to give up?


Check out the numbers you need to use.



Emergency Numbers



These are more effective than 911

When...

• You are sad, phone John 14


• You have sinned, phone Psalm 51


• You are facing danger, phone Psalm 91


• People have failed you, phone Psalm 27


• It feels as though God is far from you, phone Psalm 139


• Your faith needs stimulation, phone Hebrews 11


• You are alone and scared, phone Psalm 23


• You are worried, phone Matthew 8:19-34


• You are hurt and critical, phone 1 Corinthians 13


• You wonder about Christianity, phone 2 Corinthians 5:15-18


• You feel like an outcast, phone Romans 8:31-39


• You are seeking peace, phone Matthew 11:25-30


• It feels as if the world is bigger than God, phone Psalm 90


• You need Christ like insurance, phone Romans 8:1-30


• You are leaving home for a trip, phone Psalm 121


• You are praying for yourself, phone Psalm 87


• You require courage for a task, phone Joshua 1


• Inflation's and investments are hogging your thoughts, phone Mark 10:17-31


• You are depressive, phone Psalm 27


• Your bank account is empty, phone Psalm 37


• You lose faith in mankind, phone 1 Corinthians 13


• It looks like people are unfriendly, phone John 15


• You are losing hope, phone Psalm 126


• You feel the world is small compared to you, phone Psalm 19


• You want to carry fruit, phone John 15


• Paul's secret for happiness, phone Colossians 3:12-17


• With big opportunity/discovery, phone Isaiah 55


• To get along with other people, phone Romans 12

Alternative Numbers

• For dealing with fear, call Psalm 47


• For security, call Psalm 121:3


• For assurance, call Mark 8:35


• For reassurance, call Psalm 145:18

Do you TRUST HIM?

by Shana Minervini

Have you ever been in an undesirable situation where you did everything you could possibly imagine and still had no control over the path the situation was leading you? Was it was paralyzing and the only thing left was to let God take over? All you could do is TRUST? Maybe it’s hard for you to trust because of someone letting you down or breaking that trust. Trust is one of the hardest things to do because it releases our own wills, feelings and emotions and puts it into God’s hands. Trusting someone else, even the Lord requires us to squash our precious pride and ignore our ego.

Our worldly nature is to fix or change things that seem to be working the way we think they should. Sometimes our efforts make no difference or make things worse. God allows things to happen in our lives to draw us closer to Him. He takes us to a place where we might be face down on our knees and at a loss for words; that all we can do is just wait. Whether the waiting is for test results to come back, the fate of a loved one or even getting into a certain school or that certain job, these things put us in position to seek Him.

We lay this burden at the foot of the cross because it is too heavy to carry. We put our trust in God when it might be too painful to deal with. We give it over to Him and he releases us from it. Life would be so much easier if we gave it to Him from the start. The Lord doesn’t want to be your last resort. There have been many times when I gave it over and everything worked out beautifully.

You might be in a place today where you feel like God isn’t listening. I want to assure that God hears your prayers and has caught every tear that has fallen from your eye. Psalm 56:8 “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book” God is working this situation out His Way and by His timing. My grandmother use to always tell me “God’s timing is not your timing.” When she said that, I always think of the scripture in Psalm 27:14 “Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.”

Patience!!! We definitely need some of this to be able to trust. In our trials we get stripped of everything so God can show us that He is the ONLY one who can pick us back up and supply all our needs. That place takes us to new levels in Him. God will show us what He can do it for us and that His plan is the best way.

The pain and the waiting might be hard but He gives us the HOPE and strength we need to make it through. He speaks to us in His word and gives us the promises we must cling to. We need to wake up every day knowing that breakthrough is coming. VICTORY is on its way.

I was thinking about the word trust and looking for an acronym
T otal
R elease
U nder
S trong
T rial

When I go to sleep, I ask God to give me a dream for comfort. When I wake I ask Him to give me a scripture that will carry me through the day. He always comes through. He will give me a scripture that will leap off the page and right into my heart.

God is our hero. He is the one that has it all figured out. Release your problems onto Him and he will direct you. Proverbs 3:6 “Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” You are not in this alone. Soon the storm will be over and you will look back and say “Wow that was amazing how God handled that!” He gives us the strength and the peace to do it. Journaling helps because when the victory comes you have an awesome testimony. Don’t you just love our Dad!

If anyone is going through something and they need someone to talk to, The Truth for Women Center has amazing mentors that will listen and encourage you through any situation you might be facing. You don’t have to be going through a crisis you meet with your mentor to just be encouraged.

Our mentors are here to listen. The sessions are free. Please call 610-866-5755. If you would like to submit a prayer request, please send it to info@truthforwomencenter.org and our warrior prayer team will pray for you.

ALL PHONE CALLS/E-MAILS ARE TOTALLY CONFIDENTIAL

Be a Woman of Influence by Kim Checkeye

Do you look at yourself as a woman of influence? The definition of influence is: A power affecting a person, thing or course of events. A power to sway or affect.

Do you believe that you have a power within to affect another person, to change the course of events or to sway someone else?

As we look at the history of America we see great women who had the Power of Influence.

Clara Barton had a devotion to victims of war and natural disasters. She pleaded with the government for over a year to allow her to bring medical supplies to the battle fields, something no one had ever done before. She finally received permission and she became the nurse in some of the war’s bloodiest battles. You would know her best as being the woman who started the Red Cross. She also became the first woman to head up a US Government Bureau, the Missing Soldiers’ Office which located 22,000 missing soldiers between 1865 and 1868.

Harriet Tubman was involved with the Underground Railroad to free slaves. She knew the underground tunnels better than anyone else. She helped over 300 slaves escape without herself or anyone else getting caught. In 1860 she began speaking out against slavery and the redefinition of women’s rights. In 1861, when the civil war began, she served as a nurse, spy and a scout for the union forces.

Eleanor Roosevelt gave a voice to millions around the world for the minorities, women, the poor and the disadvantaged. She served as a chairman of the UN’s Commission on Human Rights and played a leading role in drafting and adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1961 she became the chair of the Commission on the Status of Women.

Jeannette Rankin was the first woman to have a seat in the US House of Representatives. Because of her work, three years later women were given the right to vote.

Maya Ying Lin designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC which many have gone to visit and mourn those lost in the war.

What about you? Are you willing to allow God to use you to influence the lives around you, your community, your town, your municipality, your state and beyond?

Let's take a look at women in the Bible. Deborah led the Israelites in an unlikely battle against the Canaanite forces and won. God used Queen Esther to stop the decree of Haman to kill all the Jews. Abigail interceded on behalf of her cruel husband and brought King David and his men food in order to spare the lives of others.

Each and every one of these ladies were a woman of influence.

If you are thinking to yourself "I can't influence anyone." That is a lie from our enemy. No matter how old you are, you influence someone. The people you work with, go to school, family, friends, play sports, people in church groups, people at the gym, your family, your small groups and the list goes on and on. You may not realize it, but there are hundreds of people at your finger tips that you influence.

How are you going to influence them?

As women, we can be very emotional. However, we can't run on these emotions or feelings. If we do, the influence we have on others could be detrimental. I have seen time and time again women influence others or even themselves when they are running on their emotions. The outcome - Painful. I have asked God so many times why He created us with these emotions and the answer is always the same "So you can love others the way I do." God gave us these emotions so we could love others the way He does, not so we can influence them in a negative or hurtful manner.

I know the Bible clearly teaches us that our tongue can bring life or death. As I think about yesterday or last week or even last month, I wonder how many times my tongue brought life or death to someone. What about my attitude? Did my attitude bring joy, peace, positive thinking, Godly character or did my attitude bring pain, shame, guilt or negativity to someone else?

As women of influence we must be careful that our influence is Godly and not hurtful. When we have a horrible morning and we get in the car to go to work, we must allow God to change us. We must drop everything and lay it all at the feet of Jesus so when we walk in that office door (school, grocery store, bible study group etc.) we have allowed God to change our behavior and our attitude. Why? Because we do not want bring anyone else down. Under no circumstances do we want the negative influence to pour out on someone else. When we walk into a room, we want others to see Jesus in our lives and we want to be able to influence others into greatness.

I love the Proverbs 31 lady! Years ago, when I was teaching a Bible Study on this precious woman, one of the ladies in the group raised her hand and proclaimed loud and clear "This woman is not REAL." She was right. This woman was not a real woman but her life was a reflection of God. She is a type of woman I want to be.

As her story begins, we instantaneously see what makes this woman a Godly influence. She is a woman of noble character and because of this, she is worth more than rubies. The scripture tells us exactly how her family sees her. Her husband has full confidence in her, her children arise and call her blessed and her husband sings her praises.

It goes on to tell us that she takes care of her home by providing food for her family, making clothes for them, coverings for the beds, and watches over the affairs of her household. Does this mean she didn't work outside the home or minister to others? No! It tells us she was a realtor (considers a field and buys it), a farmer (she plants a vineyard), a seamstress, she fed the poor etc. However, her top priority was always her family.

Was she drop dead gorgeous with a killer figure? Go back to the scripture.

It tells us her arms were strong for the tasks! In order for her to carry out her duties, she needed arms that were strong! Where does the scriptures tell us her beauty came from? Her beauty came from her fear for the Lord. It tells us she is clothed in strength and dignity. The Bible also tells us she loved to laugh. She not a boring woman who is serious all the time. She loved to laugh and enjoy life.

The key to this woman is Proverbs 31:26: "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.”

This lady is a woman of influence. Why? Because she speaks with wisdom and has faithful instruction on her tongue. She speaks of wisdom not anger. She speaks with wisdom not emotions. She is faithful and what comes out of her mouth is positive and not negative. It is not gossip but faithful instruction. It is not to hurt someone but to build them up.

I know this woman is not real but she is a woman that we can strive to be. We might not be able to be just like her but we can strive to hold onto the things that were important to her. We can strive to have noble character, to speak with wisdom and have faithful instruction.

I challenge you today to be a Woman of Godly Influence from this day forward. I challenge you today to speak with wisdom and have faithful instruction on your tongue. I challenge you today to bring life to others!